Journey to Candyland
by SiriusFan13
Summary: Just before Halloween, Parker and his brother Brad do a little trick-or-treating...or rather TRICKING. When some candy they receive transports them to a strange land where everything is made of sweets, things seem too good to be true. But trouble is brewing in Candyland. Can the boys save the kingdom from the evil Lord Licorice? And more importantly...can they get home? Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **We don't own the game _Candyland_ at all, but my oh my, is it a sweet thing to play in that world!

* * *

**Journey to Candyland**

"And because I am eight years old, I think I have every right to go out trick or treating this year," little Bradley Goody tried to explain earnestly into the telephone, while pacing the hardwood living room floor. "I have not once, not ever, been trick or treating. I've had costumes, but I never got any candy. This year, I deserve the right to trick or treat because I think I have enough life experience to know when I'm in danger or when something isn't right, and if I go with Parker, that adds on twelve more years of life experience. Between the two of us, that makes twenty years of life experience. We are always okay on our own and I think we'd be fine by ourselves. That is why I should be able to go trick or treating."

He took a breath and sat down in the big leather chair that was in their family room, "So, what do you think?"

"Look," replied the voice over the phone, "I wish I could tell you whether or not that was a good enough explanation, but I couldn't hear it over all of that whining."

"I was not whining! I-" Bradley cried out.

"Yeah you were. I could hear you from the kitchen," Bradley's twelve-year-old brother, Parker, chimed in, poking his head into the room. Parker walked over towards the younger one, and plopped onto the adjacent couch. He teased, "Who are you talking to? Your _girlfriend_?!"

"No! I don't even have a girlfriend!"

"Then who is it? I want to say hi, " Parker reached over, in attempt to grab the phone, but Bradley quickly snatched it back.

"Get away."

"You were trying to call Dad again, weren't you?"

"None of your business!"

As if on cue, a somewhat bored male voice could be heard. "Well, it was great talking to you Bradley. I've gotta get back to work though. Your father has a few patients coming in soon. Bye!" the receptionists' voice droned through the telephone, though he knew that the young boy wasn't listening. The phone clicked to silence for a few moments before the dial tone kicked in.

Parker snorted, rolling his eyes. "Yeah. Figured as much. Didn't you learn the last five times?"

"Go away."

His brother ignored him, a slightly wicked smile curling his lips. "You know what he's going to say, don't you?" he asked, leaning in toward his brother. He stiffened a little and put on a formal face. In an exaggerated "dad" voice, he continued, "'Unless they start handing out apples and dental floss at Halloween, you're not going trick or treating."

By then, Bradly was red in the face. His grey eyes narrowed. His cheeks were flushed. "He won't say that!"

But the older sibling continued, "And even if he doesn't _say _it, it's true. The reason you want to trick or treat is to get candy, but _he_ won't let you eat it. So what's the point."

"We get mints," Brad replied defensively.

Parker rolled his eyes. "Yeah. For stomachaches. Whoop-dee-doo." He stood up and stretched. Smirking, he looked back at the younger boy. "Speaking of which, have you had your daily stomachache yet?"

"Shut _up_! Dad says-"

"'Dad says, Dad says,'" Parker mimicked meanly. "Did you actually expect _him_ to answer?"

"He was busy. That's all."

"Of course he is. Too busy for us, but not that _woman_ he's seeing."

"Shut up, Parker. Just _shut up_! Dad's busy. He works. He's a dentist, so-"

"He was a dentist before Mom died, too." He scowled, adding bitterly. "I guess the days were just longer back then."

The younger boy glared poison at his brother. "Maybe he works so much so he doesn't have to deal with _you_."

Amidst the boys fighting, the telephone ringer blared throughout the house. It was drowned out by a large thump echoed through the family room—it was little Bradly hitting the floor with Parker pinning him to the ground.

"Get off of me, Park!" wailed Bradley. He started crying while the phone continued to ring. "You're hurting me! Please, you're hurting me!"

"You're such a baby." Parker stuck out his tongue and stood over his brother. "I wonder who's calling.

The phone finally switched over to the answering machine. A woman's voice echoed through the hallowed halls. "Hi, Milton, it's Tina! Just calling to let you kow that we're all set for tomorrow night! I'm looking forward to seeing you. Call me back when you can."

The machine clicked and went dead.

A moment of silence stretched between them before Bradley finally whispered in a barely audible voice, "Tomorrow? But Dad told us he was busy with work tomorrow. That's why he couldn't help with my costume..."

"_See_?" Parker exploded. "I _told_ you." He turned to his brother, his mouth open to continue his rant, but it was as though he suddenly really saw the look on Brad's face and couldn't continue. The younger boy looked ready to cry. Sure, it annoyed him that the kid was a wimp who cried at the drop of a hat, but still... it _was_ his brother... And their dad would be _mad_ of Bradley got it into his head to tattle.

With a look of defeat strewn across his face, Bradley gave up, letting the tears run down his cherub face while remaining silent. Parker took a seat on the floor with his brother. He laid a reassuring hand on the younger one's shoulder, "It's alright Brad." Unfortunately, he received an empty response.

Parker sighed. _Why does that kid have to be so difficult? _he thought. The two boys sat for a moment in an awkward silence, broken only by the occasional sniffle of the younger boy.

Parker's chocolate brown eyes narrowed. He needed to just make it all better. But how? Mom had always been the one to fix problems out the house. But Parker had never had her skill. He was more like his dad... at least, that's what everyone told him. He certainly didn't see it...

_Mom, why'd you have to go...? _What would she have done? She'd probably have told them that their father was indeed being unreasonable about the candy (she'd said that often), but he _was _their father, and they had to listen to him. Then she'd find some way to technically not contradict him, but still kind of give them what they wanted. Like making them carob covered pretzels to make up for the "no candy" rule... She always had her little ways around things that made everything seem okay in the end.

What trick was Parker supposed to do to make his whiny little brother to stop crying? Then it struck him. The boy grinned and tried again. "Hey, Brad. I have an idea..."

* * *

An hour later, the two boys stood just at the edge of their Illinois suburb, facing a small wooded area. No houses were in this part of the neighborhood except for one, and it was pretty far into the trees.

Parker and Bradley stood a little closer together than usual, both boys dressed in plastic armor that their father had bought for them in an attempt to placate the boys about not actually trick or treating.

Parker smirked. _Well, Dad. We technically aren't trick or treating..._

Bradley turned wide grey eyes up to his brother and swallowed hard before turning to stare back into the dark path made by trees and bushes. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Parker?"

"You wanted to go trick or treating, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but..."

The older boy didn't even look at him, simply raising a hand to point at the rough outline of what must once have been a path in the forest. "Well, this is the closest you're gonna get. Dad said no treats." The boy grinned. "He didn't say anything about tricks."

Bradley shivered, looking very small and scared inside of his silver plastic breastplate with the small gold and red lion painted on it. "But it seems kind of mean. I mean, that old lady never did anything to us..."

"She's a witch, Brad," his older brother interrupted. "You know what witches do, right?" He finally turned back toward his brother with a crazed look in his eye. "Witches eat children. So if we pull a trick on her, we aren't really doing a _bad_ thing."

"I don't want to get eaten."

Parker rolled his eyes. "Geez, Brad. Make up your mind. You want to hang out with me half the time. You want to trick or treat. I'm finally doing both with you, and now you're chickening out. Don't be such a baby."

"I'm not a baby!" Brad snapped, his grip tightening on his wooden sword. "I'm in. Let's just do this, so we can go home." He lifted his little chin up and tried to look brave.

Parker nodded approvingly. "Good. So you know what you have to do. Knock on the door and yell 'Trick or treat!' Then go run and hide behind the house. I'll wait on the side and when she comes out, I'll spray her with the hose. Then we both run. Got it?"

Brad just nodded, and they began walking. Parker walked a little bit ahead, while his brother hid in his shadow. The further they got into the wood, the darker everything seemed. It wasn't long before they approached the old woman's house.

It was a tall, crooked looking house standing in a small clearing. There was a rickety little dog house standing not too far away with the name "Peanut"on it in pealing orange paint. Both houses appeared abandoned.

"Maybe she isn't home," Brad said quietly from behind Parker's crimson cape. "Maybe we should come back another time."

"That's why you're going to knock," was the older boy's only reply. "And be loud. Old people don't hear well. Remember grandpa?" He gave his brother a knowing look before starting a slow jog to the side of the house where he could see an old hose coiled up. After a few steps, he glanced back to where his brother still stood. Parker pointed at the front of the house, mouthing the word "go."

Slowly, dragging his feet, Bradley made his way to the front of the tan house. _It's not so bad... _he told himself as he approached. And really, it wasn't. The closer he got to the house, the less frightening it looked. Now that he could really see it, he could tell it had once been lovingly cared for. Now it just looked old and sad. He wondered if the old woman was just old and sad, too.

His feet touched the cracked stone of the sidewalk, and he stopped again, looking down. He cocked his head to the side and knelt to peer closer. The colors were faded, but he could tell that each of the stones that made up the walkway to the house had once been colored brightly, making up a sort of rainbow path. There was a small garden to the side with something bright orange growing off of long stalks. He squinted, trying to make them out.

Suddenly a voice came from behind, startling him. "It's a candy corn patch," the old voice said quietly.

Bradley jumped to his feet and stumbled backwards until he slammed into the door of the old house.

Behind him on the rainbow path, where he swore there hadn't been anyone a moment before, stood an old woman with a pile of grey hair pinned haphazardly up with brightly colored pins. She wore a brown dress and muddy brown boots. Half-rimmed glasses rested on her reddish nose and grey eyes sparked behind them. Her lips were curved into an odd little smile, and she leaned heavily on a gnarled wooden cane.

"Wha-wha-wha...?" stammered the frightened young boy.

This only caused her to smile more. "You were looking at the garden," she said in a soft, velvety voice. "I was just telling you that the orange plants are candy corn stalks. Just about ready for harvesting, that batch is." She sighed, shaking her head. "I was hoping to have some caramel corn, too, but the crows got at that batch. Nothing better than peanut brittle and caramel corn."

Bradly just gaped at her, uncertain what to say. She was obviously the owner of the house... but she didn't seem like the sort of person who would eat children. "I didn't know people grew candy corn," he managed to squeak out finally.

She raised an eyebrow at him, and leaned on the cane. "Where did you think it came from, then? Some magic land of sweets?" She laughed.

There was something eerie in her voice, however, that kept Bradley from joining in. "I-I sh-should go..." he stammered out. "I'm s-sorry to bother you..."

Her grey eyes widened. "Oh, don't leave. You just got here, boy. Why don't you and your brother join me for some sweets? I have a fresh batch of peanut brittle waiting on the stove..."

"How did you know about Parker?"

She chuckled. "Is that his name? Isn't that him fiddling with my hose out back?" That strange smile played at her lips as his eyes widened. "Do you really think you're the first boys to visit me around Halloween?"

"Um..."

"Parker, dear!" she called out. "Might as well come out and join us. That hose hasn't worked in years!" She leaned in toward Bradley a bit, whispering conspiratorially, "Water does terrible things to sugar. Wouldn't want to wreck my crop with it."

Parker, slowly creeping out of the darkness, peered over at little Bradley with a look of confusion animating his face. The younger boy shrugged his shoulders, responding to his brother's facial expression with a confused look of his own.

Suddenly, the woman wrapped her arms around herself and shivered in an almost comically exaggerated way. "It's getting awfully cold out, isn't it? I have some treats you boys can enjoy while we warm up inside. Come on now, don't be shy." The little old woman hobbled up the rickety porch to the door at a speed slower than snails racing through peanut butter. She continued to mutter something about not liking hot chocolate under her breath.

Bradley could barely take a step forward before Parker ran up to him, grabbing the younger boy's arm in an iron grip. Cautiously, Parker waited to open his mouth until the woman entered the decrepit old home. "What do you think you're doing? We can't go in _there_! That lady is _nuts_!"

Calmly, Bradley replied, "Maybe, but I don't think she means any harm. Let's just go in, see what she has to say and then we'll leave."

Suddenly, the cheery old woman poked her head out of the front door, "I hope you boys like cookies!"

"C'mon Park, just a few minutes. Don't be chicken," Bradley said in a hasty tone. He grabbed his brothers hand and dragged him towards the house.

Parker could tell it was futile to argue. "Fine," he muttered. "But only for a minute. We get warm and leave..."

Once inside, the boys took a seat on a small, and rather dumpy, floral print couch that squeaked the moment they sat down. The air was filled with a comforting aroma of freshly baked goods, and a hint of something extra sweet.

"The secret ingredient is coconut," the woman offered a large platter to the boys. "My daughter loved coconut. She said it always made for a happy tummy."

Bradley broke off a piece of the cookie and popped it into his mouth, letting the warm chocolate melt on his tongue. Parker watched and did the same with a little more caution. Usually it was Bradley who was timid around strangers, but there was something about this whole thing that made Parker a bit uneasy.

"So, how is your father?" the old woman conversationally asked as she sat down in a little pouffy pink chair across from the boys.

Parker set down his cookie abruptly, "How do you know our father?" He raised his eyebrow in suspicion.

"Well, he's the town's most known dentist isn't he?" she retorted while wiping some crumbs from the corner of her comforting grin. "I never liked going to the dentist. For someone my age, I don't think I need someone telling me that I can't eat candy. They might as well tell me I can't breathe either! How can I not eat candy when I have candy corn growing right outside in my garden?" She let out a satisfied little giggle.

Just then, a tiny brown peculiar-looking sort of dog, whose little house was in the yard, came into the room and sat at the woman's feet. He poked his nose towards the boys, and excitedly wiggled his tail. "Hello, Peanut," the woman greeted the canine, giving him a small pat on the head.

Bradley and Parker simply shook their heads, not knowing how to reply while the woman continued, "You know what I also dislike? Licorice. It's so gummy and there is something that just isn't right about it, as if there's something a bit off. And it's so _bitter_. Candy shouldn't be bitter... or sour either. It should always be sweet."

"We wouldn't know," Bradley announced, his voice taking on a slightly sulky tone. "Dad doesn't let us have candy. He says it's no good."

The old woman perked up in her seat, "What kind of child has never had candy before?" She rose to her feet at a speed that seemed to defy her age, and rushed over to the corner of the room. She reached over inside the drawer of a rickety credenza and pulled out a little black box. The old woman returned to the boys with a handful of foil wrapped sweets in her palms. "You take these," she gestured to them.

Parker eyed the candy cautiously. The box was covered in a layer of dust... how old _was_ that candy anyway? "Look lady," he said after a moment, "I understand that maybe you don't have that many people to talk to, but my brother and I here, we really have to get going." He stood up from the couch abruptly.

"Parker, we still have time," Bradley pleaded with the older boy, his mouth thick with cookie crumbs. "I haven't even finished my –"

"Let's _go_!" Parker yanked his little brother up from his seat and they headed to the door with Bradley's wrist in Parker's hand. They ran down the steps and back towards the woods. Bradley turned his head to see the old woman peering out the door, waving at them.

"Thank you!" Bradley called out to her, though he expected that she probably wouldn't hear him.

To his surprise, she did. Quickly she called back, "You're welcome dear! Oh, and don't eat those unless you _really_ need them!"

"What did she say?" Bradley asked Parker as they stomped through the leaves, back towards the main road.

"How am I supposed to know?" Parker sneered over at his brother, "Why would you ever think that it's okay to go into some nutty lady's house?! I'm not going to tell Dad, but what if he found out, Bradley? We'd be dead! _So dead_!"

Bradley sighed heavily, realizing his older brother was right. Their father always taught them to beware of was just something about that old woman that made Bradley feel comfortable, in a nostalgic way.

After a short run home, they boys hastily entered the house. "Look," Parker pointed at the clock, "Dad won't be home for another twenty minutes. Let's check out that candy!" he reached into the pockets of his little armored suit and grabbed one of the foiled sweets. He studied the sweet for a moment. It looked okay. Maybe the box hadn't been as old as it had seemed.

Surprisingly, his little brother didn't seem the least bit interested. "Not now Parker, my belly hurts from running." Bradley laid down on the floor, trying to catch his breath. The run was rather tiring and took a small toll on the young boys body. "I'd rather have a mint."

"Seriously? We actually have _candy_ and you want a mint?! Enjoy your mint because I'm having one of these!" Parker stuck out his tongue and quickly unwrapped the treat- a small square of chocolate. He popped it into his mouth. "Wow! This tastes really-"

Before Parker could finish his sentence, the boys were suddenly whooshed into a vortex of something... sweet. Bright colors spiraled around them before everything abruptly went black.

Bradley woke on his back, looking up towards a pastel-colored sky. The air smelled fresh and crisp, like honey.

He sat up and saw Parker sitting up, his jaw unhinged, staring around him as though he couldn't believe what he saw. Then he looked down at the foil wrapper which had remained in his hand. "What kind of candy _was_ that?" He carefully uncrumpled the silver foil. There was no name on the outside, however when he flipped it over, printed inside the foil it read, "Waste not, want not."

Parker looked over at his little brother, and silently passed the wrapper over to the youth. As the younger boy read, Parker commented, "I don't think we're in Illinois anymore, Brad."

"Where are we then?" the little boy asked his older brother.

"I don't know," Parker surveyed the area once more. Sweets, treats, light and pastel colored scenery, sugar everywhere- it could only mean one thing.

"Parker... this place is full of _candy_."

But the older boy just shook his head. "No... I think..." His brow furrowed as he ran his finger along the white sand at his feet. He lifted some of it to his face and sniffed. Then tasted it with the tip of his tongue. _Impossible..._ He shook his head again, this time more to clear it than anything. "No, Brad... this place isn't full of candy. I think it's actually _made _of candy."

* * *

_Authors' Note: _This fiction is co-written by both myself, siriusfan13, as well as my friend, x0meechie. We truly hope you enjoy this fiction. More will come as soon as we are able. Feedback would be very much appreciated, since we would like this to be the best it can be. Thanks so much for reading. Please review!

See you later:)


	2. Chapter 2

**Journey to Candyland**

**Chapter 2:**

Bradley stared at his brother incredulously for a moment, "Made of candy? How?"

The older boy just shook his head and studied the world around him, thinking hard. The sand was made of sugar. The trees in the distance that he'd assumed we're covered in pink flowers since they looked kind of like cotton candy... well, he was starting to think maybe they _were_ made of cotton candy. It would explain why some of the other trees looked blue.

"Parker?"

He continued to ignore his younger brother. He looked up. The sky seemed normal. Intensely blue with a bright, cheery sun and a few white puffy clouds. He supposed those could be cotton candy too, but otherwise, it seemed like an Earth sky when he looked at it. No two suns or eight moons. Maybe they were in another dimension rather than on another planet?

"Are we dreaming, Parker? Maybe we're dreaming..."

Or it could be that... Parker scowled, finally looking back at Bradley, but his eyes didn't hold their usual scorn for his younger brother. "At the same time? About the same thing? Is that even possible?"

Bradley just shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we aren't. Maybe it's just my dream and you're really awake in the other room talking with your girlfriend on the phone."

He gritted his teeth. "Sally isn't my..." he trailed off when he looked further down. "Hey, Brad, we're standing on a path." He bent and picked up one of the rainbow colored rocks from the ground below them and licked it. "Rock candy."

Bradley's eyes grew wide and he bent down and grabbed a pink rock, licking it tentatively. He was used to some of Parker's meaner jokes, and expected this to be one of them, but to the boy's surprise, it was true. "The pink ones are watermelon!" he crowed in excitement. He stuck the whole thing into his mouth and then tried a purple one. "This one's grape!"

He was too excited to even notice that Parker wasn't paying attention. The entire path looked like it was made of rainbow cobblestones. Just like...

Parker's eyes narrowed. "Brad, doesn't this look familiar?"

The boy paused in his shoveling of candy into his mouth long enough to look at his brother like he was nuts. "What? Where have you ever seen candy sidewalks before?"

"That crazy old woman painted her stones to look like this. At her house."

"You think she's been here before?" Bradley asked, interested, but still a bit too focused on the candy to truly pay much attention.

"Well it _was_ her candy that sent us here..." he looked back down at the wrapper in his hand, "'Waste not, want not.'. What's that supposed to mean anyway?"

"Huh?"

Parker glared at the little boy in irritation. "Brad, can you maybe stop eating the street long enough to be useful?"

"But Parker, it's so good! You can't tell me you don't want to try-"

Infuriated, Parker snatched his little brother up from the street by the tiny collar on his shirt. "If we don't get moving now, we're going to be stuck in this sugar land forever. We need to find a place to stay, just in case we're stuck here overnight." He released the boy to drop him unceremoniously back onto the rock candy pavement.

Bradley let out a huff while Parker started down the colorful road, but he knew better than to complain. He just shouldered his very heavy backpack, which he'd dropped to the path in his excitement over the sugar, and trotted to follow his brother. The smaller boy quickly caught up to the older one, stomping his feet on the candy below him. With each step the boys took, the rock candy turned into smaller bits and fragments, which gave off an iridescent sheen to it with the warm sun beating upon it. Bradley couldn't help but admire the different colors mixed together with the light reflecting off of them. It was like crunching ice under his feet on a frosty winter day, only infinitely cooler.

"Come on, short legs, we don't have all day," Parker barked at Bradley, trying to get his kin to speed up the pace.

Bradley sighed. If only Parker would take a look around at this strange, sweet place, he would realize why he was walking at such a small pace. He continued to look around, taking in a breath of the sweet scented air. His nose tingled at the aroma, which put a playful smile across the boys face.

The two young boys continued to walk the rock candy path, passing pink and blue trees made of cotton candy, and huge lollipop flowers that were bigger than their heads. On the hilltops sat chocolate bunnies, munching on green marshmallow clovers while the gummy bears, which were about the same size as Bradley, sat on the outskirts of the cotton candy tree forest, eating bits of fluffy stuff they pulled from above them. It was incredible.

The boy was so fixated on the world around him, he didn't notice that Parker had stopped, and Bradly crashed into him.

"Watch where you're going!" the older boy snapped. "Here. Hand me my water bottle," he added, waving his hand impatiently at the boy. "All the sugar in the air is making me thirsty."

Brad obediently pulled a bottle of water out of the heavy backpack. After handing it to Parker, he took out his own.

"Only drink a little," the older boy warned, an odd look in his eye.

"Why?" Brad asked, the uncapped bottle stopping an inch from his lips.

Parker took a tiny sip and returned the bottle to his brother. "Because who knows if they even _have _water here."

Brad snorted and defiantly took a big swig from his own bottle, ignoring his brother's outstretched hand. After swallowing hard, he commented, "That's stupid. How would the plants grow without water?"

Parker's dark eyes were unsettlingly serious. "I don't know... but remember what that crazy old lady told you? That water would destroy her crops?" His brows drew together in concentration. He knelt next to a small purple flower that resembled the frosting roses on the top of a cake. Several similar flowers of different shades dotted the countryside. He uncapped his water again and poured a tiny amount on the flower. The petals quickly dissolved in the moisture. "Maybe she wasn't so crazy..." he murmured.

He stood and recapped the water, handing it back to Brad. The wide-eyed youth capped his own, and this time didn't fuss, taking the bottle back and shoving both into the backpack. As much as he didn't want to admit it, his brother might be right. If a few drops of water dissolved a flower, how could it rain? "What do you think people drink here, then?"

Parker had already begun walking away. "I dunno. Maybe soda or something. Or that really sugary fake juice that dad won't buy." He glanced back at his brother. "Maybe there aren't people at all. Maybe it's just this for miles around." He gestured wildly with his arms wide. "I feel like we're walking on a giant birthday cake." He scowled. "The mud's probably cookie dough."

"Brownie batter, actually," came a forlorn voice from not too far away. "Cookie dough comes from the mines."

At the sound of the voice from nowhere, Bradley yiped, dropping his backpack. He yanked his wooden toy sword out of his belt and swung it around wildly, accidentally cracking Parker in the shoulder with it.

"Put that stupid thing away," the older boy barked without even looking at his brother. He shadowed his eyes with his hand and peered ahead. He couldn't see anything except for a very large mossy looking tree a little ways ahead of them, just off the path. "Hello?" he called.

"You wanna tell short stuff over there to put the cutlery down?" snapped the same voice he'd heard a moment before. The owner of the voice was still invisible.

Parker motioned for Brad to lower the toy sword. The younger boy shook his head frantically. "Just put it away," Parker hissed. "It's not like you can't pull it out again later."

"I heard that," the voice groused. "We Plumpies have excellent hearing. You're not going to get anything past me."

"Plumpies?" Brad asked, finally lowering the sword and snickering a little bit.

"You got a problem with that?"

"Where are you," Parker asked, looking around, "Mr. ah—Plumpy?" Other than the tree, it was rolling hills all around them, leading off to mists in the distance.

"By the tree. What are you kids, blind?"

The brothers exchanged glances, and cautiously approached the tree. They were within a few feet of it when the greenish moss began to move. Bradley yelped and whipped his sword out again. Parker just smacked his hand down and narrowed his eyes at the tree. It appeared to be a huge plum tree with juicy reddish purple fruits dangling from its branches. The bark had a strange texture to it, and it appeared to have a crying face frosted onto its trunk. The moving green mass rolled over and revealed itself to not be moss at all, but rather a rather pudgy green creature with a coat of matted, moss-like fur and a long drooping green mustache. Around his neck, he wore a tattered pink ribbon with a red medallion covered in swirls on it. Around his ankle was a red, shiny rope that ran along the ground and was fastened at its other end to the mournful looking tree. It stood up, and the top of his head barely reached Parker's shoulders.

Brad let the sword dip again, its tip digging into the soft dirt near the path. "What _are _you?" he asked, awed.

The little creature puffed himself up importantly. "I already told you. I'm a Plumpy, _Mr. _Plumpy to you, thank you very much. Ambassador of the Licorice Regency." He bowed a little at that. "At your service."

Parker raised an eyebrow. "You're tied to a tree."

Plumpy bristled at those words, looking a bit like an offended green terrier. "Well, that's certainly not _my_ fault. The Gingerbread Witch captured me in her quest to take over the kingdom." His eyes flashed. "I was minding my own business, delivering a message for my master, Lord Licorice, when she captured me and bound me to do her bidding." Fat tears rolled down his cheeks, though they seemed to come less from sadness and more from anger. "And now I'm trapped here, forced to pick plums from her Gingerbread Plum trees." He sniffed a few times. "For eternity."

"That's so sad," Bradley said, finally tucking his sword back into his belt. "Can we help?"

The green man-creature shook his head solemnly. "Afraid not. The only one who has ever been able to control the Gingerbread Witch has been removed from his rightful throne. Without him, we are powerless." His emerald green eyes met Bradley's. "Do you happen to have any soda? It's a hot day, and I'm awfully thirsty."

Brad shook his head. "I might have a juice box, though. Or my bottle of—"

Plumpy made a face as though Bradley had offered him gasoline rather than fruit juice. "Disgusting. No thank you. Too much of that rubbish will make a creature sick." He sighed desolately. "No, no. I'll just have to suffer alone." He paused, seeming to consider. There was a sly look in his eye. " Well, there is _one_ other thing you could do for me."

"What is it?" Brad asked, eager to help, at the same time Parker replied, "No."

The younger Goody turned to face his brother. "What? Why not? He needs help."

"It's a simple little thing," the mossy man said eagerly. "I just need you to cut the candy rope that's holding me. You _do_ have that fine sword..."

"It's just wood," Parker snapped, dragging his little brother aside. "Brad," he hissed, "don't be an idiot. We don't know anything about this guy or this place."

"We know he's an ambassador."

"Do you even know what an ambassador is?" Parker scoffed, harshly. When Brad didn't answer, he went on. "That's what I thought. Look, for all we know, he's lying. He could be a criminal. You know those community service guys in the orange jumpsuits that plant flowers and stuff by the park back home? Maybe he's the Candy Country equivalent. Maybe he did something bad and is stuck doing community service."

"Where are his guards, Park? If he's a criminal, he should have guards."

"There should be guards if he's an innocent prisoner, too," Parker snapped back. "We aren't cutting him free. That's final. You can go back to eating the rocks while we walk if you'll stop talking to weird animals on the side of the road."

Before Bradley could even reply, Parker stepped back up to Plumpy. "Look," he said quickly, "I'm sure you're a real nice guy, but we're new here and we don't want to get in the middle of anything. We just want to get home. So, I hope they let you go real soon. Um... Have a good day." With that, he grabbed his brother's shirtsleeve and half-dragged him away.

"Wait!" Plumpy cried. "Fine! Don't free me! Can you at least spare me some candy? All I have to eat are these gingerbread plums. Any candy at all?"

"I'm sorry—" Parker began, but Brad cut him off, cramming his hand into his pocket and digging something out.

"Here!" Brad said, tossing a small hard candy at the little creature. "It's all I've got. Sorry."

Plumpy caught the candy in the air, and looked hard at the small red and white peppermint candy wrapped in clear cellophane in his hand. His brows drew together as though an old memory were surfacing, and suddenly in an odd voice, he replied. "You half helped me, so I'll half help you." He looked up at them and said quickly in a hushed voice, "Be careful who you talk to. There's danger for your kind here, especially these days."

"Danger?" squeaked Brad.

The mossy man nodded. "An old enemy waits for you up ahead." His eyes met Parker's as he said those words, and it seemed as though Plumpy were speaking specifically to him. After a moment, he tossed the unopened mint back to Bradley. "Here. Keep it. You might need this later, and I'd rather not have to explain how I got it. Nope. Not at all." He shook his head as though to clear it. "Now scram," he snapped, his voice regaining some of its surliness.

"Wait! You can't leave us with just _that_! What enemy?" asked Parker, exchanging a worried look with his brother. "How will we know him?"

Plumpy glared at him. "Why should I help you? I might be a convicted criminal, after all..." He snorted. "And the place is called Candyland, not Candy Country." He shot a significant look at Parker with those last few words.

Brad stuck the mint carefully back in his pocket. "I'm sorry my brother's a jerk," he said, ignoring a sharp glare from Parker. "Can you tell us anything else? Please?"

The small creature's expression softened a bit and he smiled faintly. "Funny," he muttered. "_You_ remind me of _her_..." He sighed. "Fine. All I can tell you is that your enemy will look for the dark part inside of you... will look for and use your desires against you. Your best bet is to get to the castle. If you get there before you're found, you might be safe. Someone might be able to help you there." His expression was suddenly fierce. "Until then, don't... trust... _anybody..._" He abruptly turned his back on them. "Now get out of here before the Gingerbread Witch comes back. If _she _catches you, you're going to be in a heap of trouble." He swallowed hard. "And so will I..."

"We won't tell anyone you helped us," Brad promised.

"Just go away," the little creature said, picking a few plums off the ground and putting them into a basket.

"Let's go, Brad," Parker said. Bradley just nodded, and the two boys headed off down the road.

* * *

_**Authors' Note: We hope you like the story so far. Sorry for the long wait between updates. Both x0Meechie and I are terribly busy with work and school. Hopefully things will slow down soon and we'll have more time to write!  
**_

_**Thanks for reading. Please review!**_

_**Sirius and x0Meechie**_


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